Jeff Dewit, the State Treasurer of Arizona, was nominated by President Donald Trump to be Nasa’s next chief financial officer. The move still requires Senate confirmation and Dewit plans to resign from his statewide elected office. “By the time I get through the Senate confirmation it could be near the very end of my term anyway. So it’s really good timing. I’ve been offered many positions before this but I wanted to wait until at least I’m in the last year of my term, which this basically is now,” DeWit said. 

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey will be tasked with appointing a replacement from the same party as mandated by state law. Republican candidates seeking the nomination are state Sen. Kimberly Yee and Tom Forese, an Arizona Corporation Commission member.

Dewit has a previous working relationship with President Trump having served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for his 2016 presidential campaign. Prior to being elected to his first term as Arizona State Treasurer on November 4, 2014, Dewit started a company called ECHOtrade that grew to over 500 licensed professional traders worldwide.

In addition to serving as the State’s Surveyor General and being a member of the State Land Selection Board; Dewit also serves as Chairman of Arizona’s State Board of Investment, and State Loan Commission. If confirmed by the Senate, Dewit’s new job responsibilities would include overseeing the approximate $20 billion budget of NASA. “There’s a lot of exciting things coming for NASA and for our country through that agency, and if I can be a part of helping that process I think that’s a good way to serve the country,” he said.